Big 12 Football 2012: Offensive Power Rankings for the New-Look Conference

The Big 12 may be a deceptive moniker for a conference that will only boast 10 teams for the 2012 season. However, with the new additions of West Virginia and TCU, the league should still remain one of the strongest and most dominant in college football next season, even if its name may be a bit inflated. 

The Mountaineers and the Horned Frogs will bring some interesting flavors to a conference that was arguably the most competitive league from top to bottom in the country in 2011, and more importantly, they will bring plenty of offensive fireworks. 

Yes, West Virginia and TCU should have two of the strongest offenses in college football in 2012, but the question is, how will they compare with the rest of the conference?

The Big 12 had six teams finish ranked in the Top 15 nationally in total offense last year (two of them were Missouri and Texas A&M, who have since left for the SEC), so there's already plenty of proven offensive firepower within the league. 

It should be interesting to see how the two newcomers will be able to handle the competition in the conference next season. With the types of powerful offenses that both of them have, though, they will certainly have the chance to open plenty of eyes around the league. 

While we'll have to wait until the fall to see how West Virginia and TCU ultimately compare to the rest of the conference, here's an early look at how all of the Big 12 offenses stack up for 2012.

1. Oklahoma Sooners

Oklahoma was college football's most disappointing team of 2011, as the Sooners didn't finish the season with much to show for themselves after starting off the year as the consensus No. 1-ranked national title favorite. 

Even though I don't want to make excuses for Bob Stoops' squad, you do have to remember that Oklahoma lost its top rusher, Dominique Whaley, seven games into the season and then proceeded to lose Ryan Broyles, the most productive receiver in college football history, a few weeks later. 

Those were two major blows that the team couldn't recover from, however, they still didn't stop the Sooners from finishing in the Top 10 nationally in both scoring offense and total offense, as they averaged 39 points and 512 yards per game in 2011. 

Even though Broyles may be tough to replace, there's still a lot of reason for optimism in Norman this offseason, and a lot of it centers around the return of Heisman contender, QB Landry Jones. 

Over the last three years, Jones has completed 61 percent of his passes and thrown for a combined 12,379 yards and 93 touchdowns. 

Not bad, huh?

The scary part is the 6'4'', 229-pound senior should be in store for the best season of his career in 2012, as he'll have four dynamic receiving threats—Kenny Stills, Jaz Reynolds, Kameel Jackson and Trey Franks—returning to the offense and an abundance of young incoming freshmen receivers, including 5-star prospect Trey Metoyer, to work with. 

The return of Whaley, who averaged 5.5 yards per carry in 2011, to the backfield will also be a major boost. 

It also shouldn't hurt that Oklahoma will have one of the top offensive lines in the country, led by future All-American offensive guard Gabe Ikard. 

If Jones can step up in big games, become a true leader and perform at the level that the Sooners need him to next season, Oklahoma will be right in the hunt for a BCS Championship Game berth in 2012. 

2. West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia caught the college football world's attention when the Mountaineers racked up a bowl-record 70 points against Clemson in the Orange Bowl back in early January. 

That performance let everyone know that coach Dana Holgorsen and quarterback Geno Smith could produce magical results together, and it served as a warning to Big 12 teams that the Mountaineers are certainly not going to be a team to be taken lightly in 2012. 

The Mountaineers will once again have one of the most lethal offensive attacks in the country, and while we may never see another 70-point single-game output from the team again next season, West Virginia should still light up plenty of scoreboards. 

The passing combo of Smith and receivers Tavon Austin, Stedman Baily and Ivan McCartney will be capable of slicing through any secondary it encounters in 2012.

There are are still some questions at running back, where last year's leading rusher, Dustin Garrison, is still recuperating from a knee injury, but Shawne Alston has the chance to develop into more than just a short-yardage/goal-line option next season, and he and Garrison should complement each other perfectly. 

Holgorsen's impact on the Mountaineers offense was clearly evident last year, as West Virginia ranked sixth in the country in passing offense, 13th in scoring offense and 15th in total offense during the coach's first season at the helm in Morgantown. 

Now that Smith and company have a better grasp of Holgorsen's system, the West Virginia offense should be a force to be reckoned with in 2012. 

3. TCU Horned Frogs

Any Big 12 fan who is dismissing TCU as a non-threat for 2012, thinking that the Horned Frogs don't have what it takes to compete with the BCS big boys, had better watch out, because Gary Patterson has built a sleeping giant in Fort Worth.

TCU has the speed and athleticism on offense to go toe-to-toe with any team in the country, and it'll be a lot of fun to see how the Horned Frogs fare in their first year in the Big 12 next season. 

QB Casey Pachall, who threw for over 2,900 yards and 25 touchdowns in his first season as a starter in 2011, looks like he could develop into the next Ryan Mallett.

Pachall is a big, strong-armed signal-caller who showed terrific poise, as he led his team to an 11-win campaign last year. 

The 6'5'', 216-pound junior will once again have all of his key playmakers surrounding him in 2012, as TCU will return one of the deepest backfields and of the most explosive receiving corps in the country. 

Ed Wesley, Waymon James and Matthew Tucker, who combined to rush for over 2,300 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2011, will form a three-headed monster in the backfield, while Josh Boyce, Skye Dawson and Brandon Carter, who combined to catch 129 passes for 1,850 yards last year, will form an explosive receiving trio. 

Let's just say that a few NFL scouts will surely find a way to make a trip or two to Amon G. Carter Stadium next season. 

With so much talent at the offensive skill positions, there's no doubt that TCU will have what it takes to compete for a Big 12 championship in 2012. 

4. Texas Longhorns

The days of quarterbacks like Colt McCoy and Vince Young leading Texas to double-digit-win championship seasons seemed like a distant memory in 2011, as the Longhorns' quarterback woes were quite apparent last season.

The team tried three different signal-callers—Garrett Gilbert, David Ash and Case McCoy—but none of them could provide the stability that the team was searching for, and the Longhorns ended up finishing with another disappointing season.

After consecutive lackluster campaigns, the heat has now been turned up in Austin, and it will be up to coach Mack Brown to get the most out of the talent that he'll have at his disposal in 2012. 

After stockpiling dozens upon dozens of highly touted recruits in recent years, the Texas offense has plenty of talent. But the question is, will all of that talent form a consistent and cohesive unit next season?

It starts with QB David Ash, who showed flashes of his potential last season but failed to give the team a true difference-maker at the position. 

Ash will definitely benefit  from having two of the Big 12's best receivers, Mike Davis and Jaxon Shipley, and one of the deepest backfields in the country, comprised of Malcolm Brown, Joe Bergeron and incoming 5-star recruit Johnathan Gray, to work with. 

It also won't hurt that the Longhorns will have one of college football's strongest offensive lines, led by OG Mason Walters and OT Trey Hopkins. 

If Ash can give the Longhorns the type of reliable quarterback that they've been searching for since Colt McCoy's departure, Texas has the type of offensive weapons to get back in the hunt for a Big 12 championship next season.  

5. Oklahoma State Cowboys

You can make the argument that Oklahoma State's Joseph Randle is the best overall running back in college football. Randle proved to be an elite playmaker in 2011, as he totaled 1,482 yards and scored 26 total touchdowns in his first season as a starter. 

The 6'1'', 191-pound junior should be one of the biggest stars in the country next season, and he and fellow backfieldmate Jeremy Smith will form one of the best backfield tandems in all of college football. 

Still, even with Randle and Smith leading the way on the ground, there's simply no getting over the fact that replacing one of the greatest passing combinations in college football history, QB Brandon Weeden and WR Justin Blackmon, is going to be a monumental task. 

Junior Clint Chelf is the likely heir apparent to Weeden, and Tracy Moore will be asked to take over Blackmon's role as the team's go-to receiver, but obviously, the two of them are going to have some big shoes to fill. 

Randle will still provide the team with enough of a spark to compete with any opponent on the schedule, but it will be up to Chelf and Moore to step up in a big way if the Cowboys really want to make another run at a conference championship in 2012. 

6. Kansas State Wildcats

Collin Klein started off the 2011 season way off the national radar, but after surprising everyone and leading Kansas State to a 10-win campaign, Klein has now solidified himself as one of college football's most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks. 

The problem is, for as good as Klein was last season, the rest of the Wildcats offense was just as bad, as Kansas State ended up ranking 101st in the country in total offense last year. 

Klein ended up accounting for 40 of the team's 52 total touchdowns, and given how humdrum the team's offense was in 2011, it was surprising that the Wildcats were as successful as they were. 

The ground game may have been potent, as Klein and RB John Hubert, who ran for 970 yards, were both effective, but the passing attack was one of least explosive in the country, ranking 108th nationally. 

The good news is that Klein will have his three top receivers—Chris Harper, Tyler Lockett and Tramaine Thompson—all back, but the group is going to need a better, more consistent effort in 2012. 

If Klein can continue to develop as a passer this offseason, Kansas State's offense should be able to cause problems for defenses both through the air and on the ground next season. 

7. Baylor Bears

Many are wondering how Baylor could possibly replace the dynamic and explosive offensive trio of QB Robert Griffin III, RB Terrance Ganaway and WR Kendall Wright. 

While there's no disputing that Griffin was a once-in-a-lifetime player for a program like Baylor, the Bears may not necessarily have that tough of a time replacing the production that Ganaway and Wright gave the team last season. 

RB Lache Seastrunk, a former 5-star recruit who transferred to Baylor from Oregon before the start of last season, is an explosive, supreme speedster, who is a home run waiting to happen. Now that he's eligible, it will be interesting to see if Seastrunk can make good on his high school hype in 2012. 

The Bears will obviously miss Wright's field-stretching speed in the passing game, but the team will have one of the best receiving corps in the country, comprised of Terrance Williams, Lanear Sampson and Tevin Reese, to rely on in his absence. 

Baylor returns enough firepower at the skill positions to make any defense in the conference sweat, but the key to the unit's success will ultimately be the play of Griffin's replacement, Nick Florence. 

Florence was thrown into the fire when RG3 went down with a knee injury early in the 2009 season, and that experience should be a great benefit to him as he prepares to take over as the full-time starter in 2012. 

The offensive line will miss key cogs like C Philip Blake and Robert T. Griffin, but linemen like Ivory Wade and Cyril Richardson should be capable of leading the way. 

If Art Briles can mold Florence into a solid passer, Baylor will still have the chance to put a whole bunch of points up on the scoreboard next season, even without Griffin, Ganaway and Wright in the mix.

8. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Last year, Texas Tech's running game was basically nonexistent after RB Eric Stephens went down with a season-ending knee injury in the fifth game of the season. The Red Raiders relied heavily on the passing game with Stephens gone, but it failed to net them many wins, as Tommy Tuberville's crew finished just 5-7 in 2011. 

The return of Stephens is welcome news for the offense, as is the return of QB Seth Doege and the the team's top three receivers—Eric Ward, Alex Torres and Darrin Moore. 

If Texas Tech truly wants to have a solid offensive attack in 2012, though, the key will be finding an offensive identity and finding a balance of the passing and running games. 

Stephens has the chance to be one of the conference's top rushers if he's fully healthy, but that's still a considerable if. 

Doege threw for over 4,000 yards last season, but he also finished second in the country behind Case Keenum with 581 total pass attempts. 

That number has to come down in 2012 if the Red Raiders want to finish with a winning season and make it back to the postseason. 

Next season will truly be a "put up or shut up" type of campaign for Tuberville's team, as the first two years of his tenure have certainly left a lot to be desired. 

9. Kansas Jayhawks

Notre Dame fans may have never gotten the chance to see what the Charlie Weis-Dayne Crist partnership was capable of, but Kansas fans will be treated to a viewing in 2012, as Weis and his one-time quarterback pupil will meet back up for a reunion in Lawrence next season.

Both will be trying to put their South Bend shortcomings in the rear view mirror next season, but given the sorry state that previous coach Turner Gill left the Jayhawks in, Weis and Crist are going to have their work cut out for them trying to get the team to be competitive in 2012. 

Kansas ranked 95th nationally in scoring offense and 106th in total offense last season. 

The good news is that RB James Sims, who ran for 727 yards and nine touchdowns in 2011, will be back, as will the team's top three receivers—D.J. Beshears, Kale Pick and JaCorey Shepherd.  

Weis may not be the greatest head coach, but he's proven that he can put a sound offensive attack out on the field, and if he can mold Crist into a stable starter, the Jayhwawks should at least be respectable in 2012. 

10. Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa State shocked the college football world last season when it upset then No. 2-ranked Oklahoma State late in the season, a defeat which ultimately cost the Cowboys a shot at the national championship.

However, outside of that victory, the Cyclones didn't exactly accomplish a whole heck of a lot in 2011, as they finished just 6-7 and once again finished near the bottom of the Big 12. 

That performance may have been enough to earn coach Paul Rhoads a nice, fat contract extension, but if the team wants to finally climb out of the basement of the Big 12, a lot more needs to be done in 2012. 

The first order of business will be to find a starting quarterback to lead the team. 

Neither Steele Jantz nor Jarrett Barnett were particularly special in 2011, as the two combined to complete just 52 percent of their passes last season. 

That type of inefficiency just isn't going to cut it. 

While the Cyclones will benefit from the return of leading rusher James White and talented receiver Josh Lenz, if they don't get more out of the quarterback position in 2012, they will continue to remain a mediocre non-factor in the conference next season.